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HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 



BY REV. SAMUEL WAKE FISHER, 

I'x'esid.ent of* tlie College. 



WEDNESDAY, JULY 16, 186^. 



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HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 



By key. SAMUEL WAEE FISHEE, D. D., 

PRESIDENT OF HAMILTON COLLEGE. 



N'early seventy years have passed away since yonder emi- 
nence witnessed a scene wliicli its results liave invested witli 
a deep historic interest. A company of pioneers had gath- 
ered, amidst the forest that then clothed its summit, to lay 
the corner stone of Hamilton Oneida Academy, The po- 
sition chosen for the establishment of this Institution was 
remarkable. It was near the geographical center of this 
State, soon to take and maintain the first rank among its 
sisters in the Union. A few rods east ran the Line of Prop- 
erty^^ which divided the retiring barbarism of the Aborigines 
from the incoming civilization of the Anglo-American. It 
looked down upon the valley of the Mohawk, which, stretch- 

* " The Property Line was established by a treaty between the State of 
New York and the Oneida Indians, by which the latter ceded to the former 
all their lands lying north and east of that line. It extended from the head 
waters of the Unadilla river to Wood creek, its course being north 27"^ 
east, and formed the western boundary ofCoxe's patent. A person stand- 
ing on College Hill in a clear day, can easily trace this famous boundary 
southward and eastward from the corner of Kirkland's patent, opposite the 
North College, striking a poplar tree in Professor North's garden, crossing 
the road obliquely above the school house at theToot.of the hill, passing 
through Noel Foot's saw mill and dwelling house, following the road lead- 
ing past the residence of Eurotas Hart, and thence stretching away south of 
Paris Hill to its termination in the town of Bridgewater." — Lecture by Hon. 
0. S. Williams, before the Young Men^s Lyceum, Clinton. 



^A HISTORICAL DLSCOURSE. 

iiig from tlie Hudson to Oneida Lake and continued thence 
by tlie lowlands on the south of that lake to the hills of 
Onondaga, was to become one of the two great thorough- 
fares along AYliich the l^urden of half a nation's freightage 
was to be borne. On the north and far north-east rose to 
view the summits of those hills which divide the waters of 
Ontario and the St. Lawrence from the affluents of the Hud- 
son ;• while immediately below it was the valley of the Oriska- 
ny, running southward until melting into that of the Chenan- 
go, it at length entered that southern intervale which was, in 
time, to constitute the second grand highway between the 
east and the west. On this central and commanding posi- 
tion the}^ were establishing an Ii|^stitution whose influence 
was destined to pass beyond the anticipations of the most 
far-seeing and sanguine. 

The time of this event was memorable in history. We 
had successfully accomplished the greatest civil Eevolution : 
we had adopted the Constitution and organized the Govern- 
ment, and were just starting in tha?t great experiment by 
which Ee23ublicanism was to stand or fall. Washington 
was chief, and around him were the lights of the Eevolution, 
Haimiltox, Jeffeesojs'^, Jay, Madisox, Eaxdolph, Kxox 
and others of nearh' equal brilliancy. The Board of Eegents 
in this State had just been organized vc^ovl a permanent 
basis, and the charter of this Academj^ was among their 
earliest acts. The tide of immigration had begun to flow 
towards these lands, now fairly open to the Avhite settler. 
Here and there below us the partial clearing, the rude hut, 
the incipient grouping of dwellings of greater pretensions, 
indicate the presence of civilization, and the germs of those 
beautiful villages and cities which now form so attractive a 
feature in the landscape. Outside of this nation the realm 
of civilization was in a state of great agitation. France 
was convulsed Avith the throes of that bloody travail which 
gave birth to events the most terrible and the most brilliant 
in the history of man. While here the sounds of war had 
ceased and peaceful citizens assembled to la}' the founda- 
tions of an Institution that was to aid in spreading the light 



HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 6 

of Cliristian science and civilization tlirougli tlie world, 
there an liereditary monarcli and liis beautiful queen were 
borne to the scaffold, Kapoleon was just preparing for his won- 
derful career, while the nations of Europe, outside of France, 
were marshaling for that greatest conflict of the past. Such 
was the time. 

The occasion is one of s|)ecial interest. The chief states- 
men of the nation, including the father of his country, have 
heard of and anticipated it with that peculiar pleasure which 
belongs to far-seeing and patriotic minds, intent upon the 
production of those forces which were to mould the grand 
future of this young nation. It has gathered together the 
leading minds from a large section of the State. The men 
who moulded these communities into their present form, 
with not a few of the earnest, stalwart workers whose hands 
were to subdue the forests, are there. Steuben, the brave 
old warrior, who came in our hour of trial, to discipline our 
rude soldiery and organize them into the effective battalions 
that beat bach the invading hosts of England, has come to 
perform one of the last and most notable and pregnant acts 
of his useful life for the country of his adoption ; to lay the 
corner stone of an Institution which is to bear down into 
the future the name of his old compatriot in arms, one of 
the foremost statesmen of this or any other age. A 
troop of horsemen, commanded by a son of Kirklaistd, 
among whom were some who had mingled in the fight of 
Oriskany and seen Cornwallis surrender his sword at York- 
town, occupy the outer circle as his escort and sjanbol- 
ize the patriotism to be nourished here ; a ]3atriotism that 
in the hour of our country's need Avill not shrink, sword 
in hand, from defending the nation's rights, be the assailants 
ambitious foreign despots, or equally ambitious but more 
malignant traitors in our own land. Reclining partly on 
the grass and standing around is a company of the faithful 
Oneidas, among whom towers the venerable form of their 
Christian chief, the brave Skenandoa ; Skei^andoa, the 
friend of Kirkland, whose counsels in peace and war have 
kept them firm on our side through all the horrors of he 



4 HISTORICAL DISCOUESE. 

Revolution ; liis liead is now wliitened by tlie snows of 
ninety winters ; lie looks in silence upon tlie scene, knowing 
tkat AA^katever may betide kis people, liis own askes Avill 
mingle Avitk tkose of kis Ckristian fatker, and kis body 
ascend AA^tk kis in tke resurrection of-^tke jusf'^ 

But tkere is still anotker — tke central figure of tkis com- 
pany — around Avkom clusters tke ckief interest ; one AAdiose 
noble keart prompted, AAdiose intellect conceiA^ed, AAdiose 
energy carried into execution tke plan of founding tkis Insti- 
tution. Tke name of Samuel Kirklaxd, altkougk as yet 
like tkat of Calvix, no marble skaft designates tke spot 
wkere kis dust reposes, will Ha'c wkile yonder walls endure, 
and literature, science and religion skall ckerisk tke memory 
of tkose wkose Ha^cs liaA^e been associated witk tkeir ad- 
vancement in tkis land. 

Mr. KiRKLAXD Avas of Scotck descent ; kis fatker AA^as tke 
Rev. Daniel Kirkland, for many years tke pastor of tke 
Tkird Congregational Ckurck in ISTorwick, Ct. We kear of kim 
first as a student in 1761, in tke sckool of Rca". Dr. Eleazer 
Wheelock, at Lebanon, Ct. Tkis sckool AA^as establisked 
by Dr. Wheelock, ckiefiy for tke purpose of training 
Indian youtk as missionaries to tkeir OAvn people. It was 
not koAA^ever limited to tkem, but embraced also some Eng- 
lisk students. Out of tkis sckool, after a time, grcAV Dart- 
moutk College. And kere Kirklaxd receiA^ed tkose im- 

*Skenandoa was one of the most powerful and wise of the Oneidas. He 
became a Christian soon after the establishment of the mission by Mr. Kirk- 
land at Oneida. Commanding in figure, of great eloquence and solid 
judgment, he exerted a decisive influence over his tribe. His Christian 
character was remarkably strong and well defined. A short time before 
his death, he thus expressed himself to a friend : "I am an aged hemlock ; 
the winds of an hundred winters have whistled through my branches ; I 
am dead at the top. The generation to which I belonged have run away 
and left me ; why I live, the Great Good Spirit only knows ; pray to my 
Jesus that I may have patience to wait for my appointed time to die." It 
was his wish to be buried beside his old fi'iend and teacher, '• that he might 
go up with him at the great resurrection.- ' This wish was complied Avith. 
He died in March, 1816, aged 110 years, and was buried beside his friend. 
His remains now rest in the College cemetery, where a monument was 
erected to him by the Northern Missionary Society. 



HISTOEICAL DISCOUESE. 5 

pressions wliicli ultimately led liini to devote liis life to tlie 
evangelization of tlie Aborigines. In 1762 lie entered tlie 
Sopliomore Class in Nassau Hall. At the Commencement 
in 1765, lie received Ms degree in course. He Avas not pres- 
ent however at the time. Early in the winter of that year, 
at the age of twenty-four, acting upon the suggestion of his 
old instructor, Dr. Wheelock, and in obedience to that 
spirit which consecrates the true missionary of the cross, he 
gave himself directly to his life-long Avork. His life from 
henceforth, distances in thrilling interest the highest crea- 
tions of fiction. His mission was the evangelization of tho 
Six l^ations, then occupying the central and western por- 
tions of this State. He came to a people not then, as now, 
the coAved and broken remnants of a great confederacy. 
They Avere in the height of power ; fierce, proud, irascible, 
fickle, rcA^engeful, the slaA^es of superstition, delighting in 
war, fond of blood. He dAvelt in their miserable Avigwams ; 
he partook of their often disgusting food ; he tolerated their 
filthy habits ; he bore Avith their childish impatience. In 
perils of waters ; in perils of robbers ; in perils of murder- 
ers ; in perils of starvation ; in perils of false brethren ; un- 
aided and unprotected by the strong arm of GrOA^ernment ; 
for months and ca- en years separated from his family ; amidst 
the depressions of disease, the horrors of war and the sor- ' 
roAvs of bereaA^ement, he sought the best interests of these 
Avild denizens of the forest, and dcA^eloped some of the 
finest qualities that constitute an apostle, or dignify our 
humanity. Patient under trials ; persevering amidst difS.- 
culties ; fearless in the face of appalling dangers and AA^hen 
his life hung b}"" a thread; returning ingratitude Avith 
kindness ; his life a long sacrifice for the good of a race 
passing away, he rises before us to-day in the ennobled 
character of Christ's missionary — a character such as only 
the Grospel and the grace of God is able to develop in this 
Avorld. We lose sight of his imperfections, in presence of 
the grandeur of his aims, the Christ-like character of his 
motiA^es, and the noble qualities he manifested in the pros- 
ecution of his high mission. Earely ever, in the history of 



6 HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 

the world, lias devotion to one object, and that the noblest 
which can occupy the mind, been more signally illustrated. 

Circumstances early determined him to devote his efforts 
to the elevation of the Oneidas. Over this tribe he secured 
and maintained a commanding influence. They testified 
their appreciation of his services and character, not only by 
uniting themseh^es to the side of the colonies in the war 
for Independence, but by a generous gift to Mr. Kirkland 
personally, of a large tract of land.^ During the Eevolu- 
tion he acted as chaplain in the army stationed in this 
section of the State ; subsequently he was requested by the 
Grovernment to aid in the formation of a treaty with the 
Six JSTations. This treaty secured a peace which, on the 
part of the great majority, has remained unbroken to the 
present. His residence during most of his missionary life 
was at Oneida Castle, Avhere the Oneidas had their Council 
Fire. 

Before the close of the century, he removed to this place, 
erecting for himself a small dwelling just inside the line of 
Property and shortly after the mansion which still bears 
his name. 

*ln December, 1788, the State of New York and the Indians, conjointly, 
made a grant to Mr. Kirkland and his t^Y0 eldest sons, of large and valuable 
tracts of land in the neighborhood of Oneida, amounting in all to about 
4,750 acres. Subseqentlj, in April, 1792, Messrs. Gorham & Phelps con- 
yeyed to Mr. Kirkland 2,000 acres of land in Ontario county. This was 
granted to him for his services, in reference to a '• tract of six millions one 
hundred and forty-four thousand acres, familiarly called the Genesee Coun- 
try, which the State of New York, in 1786, granted, without an equivalent? 
to the claims of the State of Massachusetts, ceding everything but the right 
of sovereignty, and which tract the latter had sold to Oliver Phelps and 
Nathaniel Gorham for one million of dollars." — Dr. Lothrop's Life of Kirk- 
land. 

"Mr. Kirkland's patent was two miles square, and lies on the west side 
of the Property Line, its north-east corner being near North College."' 
" He removed to his Patent in 1789, and from that time to his death, he dwelt 
on his beautiful domain. About the year 1791 he built and afterwards 
occupied a small frame house,'' which now (1862) stands near the school 
house, at the foot of College Hill. " In 1795 he erected the present family 
mansion." This edifice, now owned by L. S. Harding, Esq., is one of 
the most commodious and beautifully situated in the town. It stands near 
the foot of the hill and a few rods south of College street. 



HISTOKICAL DISCOURSE. 7 

.The imparalleled exposures, 23rivations and trials of nearly 
tliirtv years' lal^or liad begun to undermine his once vigor- 
ous constitution. He naturally looked forward to the future. 
The object which in his youth had kindled his enthusiasm 
still held its place in his heart, now that the shadows of age 
began to fall upon him. He wished to leave behind^ him 
something that should consummate and crown his work 
when he had departed. He knew the far-reaching power of 
an Institution of learning to spread civilization and Christ- 
ianity through the world. He resolved to plant such an 
Institution — an Institution open to all, in which the Indian 
and the Anglo-American might be trained to civilize the 
aborigines and diffuse the light of Christianity among the 
masses that were yet to fill this broad land. 

And here it is well to notice the remarkable fact, that two 
of the leading Colleges of this Union, sprang from the s|)on- 
taneous efforts of Missionaries having primary reference to 
the elevation of the Indian. Dartmouth and Hamilton are 
the outgrowth of Christianity in its purpose to rescue from 
degradation and lift up to a position of intelligence and true 
religion, the Sons of the Forest. The tide of civilization, 
sweeping arormd and beyond them, has borne on its crest 
the wrecks and fragments of a once mighty nation. The 
providence of Grod, with other purposes in view, is working 
out through them results broader and grander than even 
the seer-visioned men who laid their foundations foresaw. 
But while these Institutions live, they will lift up before 
the oncoming generations, in characters more durable than 
those chiseled in marble or brass, the fiery signal of the red 
denizens of the forest. And when thousands of names once 
on the lips of millions, touched by the waters of Lethe, have 
sunk into oblivion, those of Wheelock and Kirkland, the 
humble teachers of this race, will shine lustrous among the 
stars that gem the firmament of Grod. 

To the work of founding this Institution Mr. Kirklaxd 
devoted himself with his accustomed energy. He interested 
many of our statesmen and persons prominent in civil life, 
from Washixgtox downward, in the project. From Ham- 



8 HISTORICAL DISCOUESE. 

ILTO^, whose name the Institution \Yas to bear, he obtained 
the gift of a lot of land Avhich realized what in those 
times was a handsome sum. He gave at first the ground 
for the site of the Academy, and subsequently about an 
eighth of the entire patent granted him by the Oneidas. 
He was, in the language of one of our aged citizens, '• a man 
of great enterprise, shrewdness, and tact. He was for pro- 
gress."' The people were j^ooi' 5 scarcely six years had 
passed since the white man had ventured into this wide 
wilderness to make a home for himself Everything was 
rude, inchoate, unformed. So late as 1799, President Day, 
then a tutor in Yale College, relates, that he accompanied 
Dr. DwiGHT as far as Utica with the intention of visiting 
ISTiagara. Appalled by the dangers and trials of the way 
they turned back after having paid a visit to the Missionar}^ 
KiRKLAXD and this infant Academy. In spite of this state 
of things, Mr. KiRKLAxp, by his personal solicitations, inter- 
ested the people in the work. They went forth into the 
woods in companies ; they felled the trees, sawed the lum- 
ber, and then assisted in rearing the building. The enter- 
prise was great for that time, vastly greater than the erection 
of the temple by Solomon, or our own national capitol in 
the time of our prosperity. He watched over it vuth 
parental solicitude. He had the satisfaction of seeing it 
manned with faithful instructors, and class after class leave 
its halls, before his own eyes closed in death. ^ 

* la April. 1793, Mr. Kirkland gave a title-deed for several tracts of land, 
amounting to several hundred acres, for the Ijenefit of the Academy. 
Twelve acres, constituting the site on which the Academy, and afterwards 
the College, edifices were built, is declared to be inalienable. In the jn-e- 
amble to the deed he enumerates the motives which led to the gift. ••' A 
serious consideration of the importance of education, and an early improve- 
ment and cultivation of the human mind, together with the situation of the 
frontier settlement of this part of the State, though extensive and flourish- 
ing, yet destitute of any well regulated seminary of learning, has induced 
and determined me to contribute of the ability wherewith my Heavenly 
Benefactor hath blessed me, towards laying the foundation and support of 
a school, or academy, in the town of Whitestown, county of Herkimer, con- 
tiguous to the Oneida nation of Indians, for the mutual benefit of the young 
and flourishing settlement in said county, and the various tribes of Confed- 



HISTOEICAL DISCOUKSE. \) 

The application for tlie cliarter is dated November 12tli, 
1792. It was granted eaii}^ ifi tlie following year, and is 
signed by Geoege Clinton, as Chancellor. The first board 
of trnstees consisted of Alexander Hamilton, John Lan- 
sing, Egbert Benson, Dan Bradley, Eli Bristol, 
Erastus Clark, James Dean, Moses Foot, Thomas R. 
GrOLD, Sewal Hopkins, Michael Myers, Jonas Platt, 
Jedediah Sanger, John Sergeant, Timothy Tuttle and 
Samuel Wells. Of these men some were quite prominent 
in the nation and the State, while others were leading citi- 
zens in this section of countiy. The foundations of the 
Academy were laid soon after, and in the course of one or 
two years the building itself was erected. It stood between 

erated Indians, earnestly wishing the Institution may grow and flourish, 
that the advantages of it may be extensfve and lasting, and that under the 
smiles of the God of wisdom and goodness, it may prove an eminent means 
of diffusing useful knowledge, enlarging the bounds of human happiness, 
aiding the reign of virtue and the kingdom of the blessed Redeemer." Mr. 
Kirkland died of pleurisy on the 28th of February, 1808. His funeral ser- 
mon was pi-eached by Rev. Dr. Norton of Clinton. His remains, with those 
of his youngest daughter and the chief Skenandoa, were interred near his 
house. In October, 1856, they were removed, by direction of the Board of 
Trustees, to the College cemetery. He had three sons and three daughters. 
Of the sons, George W. and Samuel died unmarried ; Dr. John Thornton 
Kirkland, President of Harvard College, left no children. Of the daughters, 
Jerusha, the eldest, married John H. Lothrop. of Utica ; the next, Sarah, 
married Francis Amory, of Boston, and Eliza, the youngest. Rev. Dr. 
Edward Robinson, now Professor in Union Theological Seminary, New 
York city. Rev. Dr. Lothrop, of Boston, and Mrs. Edmund A. Wetmore, of 
Utica, are children of Mrs. J. H. Lothrop, and grandchildren of Mr. Kirkland. 
The trustees on the 22d of August, 1820, adopted a series of resolutions, 
providing for the purchase of a cemeteiy for the College, and the removal 
to it of the remains of Mr. Kirkland, Dr. Backus and Professor Norton. On 
the 24th of July. 1855. Hon. E. A. Wetmore, Hon. 0. S. Williams and Rev. 
Dr. Vermillye were appointed a committee to superintend the removal of 
the remains of Mr. Kirkland, those of his family and direct descendants who 
were buried on his homestead, or in the village burying ground, and those 
of the chief Skenandoa. On the 31st of October, 1856, the remains of Mr. 
Kirkland, Mrs. Robinson, his youngest daughter, and Skenandoa were 
taken up and interred with suitable ceremonies in the College cemetery. 
No monument has yet been erected to Mr. Kirkland. The time, we trust, is 
not far distant, when this long contemplated act of justice to the founder of 
the College, will be performed. 



10 HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 

tlie Cliapel and Hamilton Hall ; was tliree stories in lieiglit 
and ninety feet in length b}' tliirtj- eiglit in Avidth. For 
several 3^ears it remained qnite incomplete : bnt earh" in 1798 
tlie large room on the sonth, in tlie second story, was com- 
pleted, and two small rooms on tlie first floor. The build- 
ing occnpied by the President of the College for the last 
fifty years, with the exception of the period of Dr. N'orth's. 
incumbency, was erected subsequenth' for a boarding house. 

Mr. John Niles, a graduate of Yale College in 1797, Ayas 
the first preceptor. He entered upon his duties in the fall 
of 1798, and held the position for three years, Avhen his failino- 
health led him to seek another field of labor. In the 
autumn of 1799 he associated with himself James Murdock, 
a college classmate. Mr. Murdock continued as a teacher 
for only a single year. He subsequently studied for the 
ministry under the 'Rev. Dr. JSTortox, of this place, and for 
many years held successiA^ely the posts of Professor of Lan- 
guages in the IJniA^ersity of Yermont and of Ecclesiastical 
HistorA" in the Andoyer Theological Seniinary. He AA\as a 
man of solid learning and A^aried acquirements, and did good 
serAuce in his generation. 

Mr. NiLES became also a minister of the Grospel, and 
remoA^ed to Bath, in Steuben county, Avhere he engaged in 
teaching. He died m 1812, AA^hile yet a young man and in 
the early maturity of his poAA^ers. He is represented here 
to-day by a grandson, a member of the Freshman Class. He 
was quite successful as a teacher and a large number of both 
sexes remember him with gratitude. 

In September, 1801, the Eey. Robert Porter succeeded 
Mr. ISTiLES as principal. He AA^as graduated at Yale in 1795, 
and licensed to preach in 1798, (or 1799,) and for a short 
time prcAuous had been acting as a missionary among the 
settlements on the Black riA'er. He held the position of 
preceptor for four j'ears, AAdien he resigned, in order to head 
a colony for the settlement of Prattsburgh, in this State. 
With great reluctance he left the ministry and entered civil 
life, but his influence Avas AA-holly consecrated to religion, 
and it AA^as among the most efl'ectiA'e in imparting to that 



HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 11 

town its higli character for morality and intelligence. He 
died in 1817, respected and beloved. 

We now come to the first living link in tlie cliain that 
binds the Academy and the College together. Mr. Seth 
JSToRTON became principal in the falln^f 1805. He resigned 
in 1807 to accept a tutorship in Yale College, his place 
being supplied by James Watson Eobbins. After a year's 
absence he returned and resumed the preceptorship, which 
he held until his appointment as professor of languages at 
the opening of the College. In the year 1806 an effort was 
made to finish the rooms of the Acadeni}?- building ; but it 
was only partially successful. It remained incomplete until 
the establishment of the College. The time had now come 
for a ver}^ decided advance in its character as an Educational 
Institution. It had done its work well for that age. For 
fourteen years it had been in successful operation, and dur- 
ing all that time its students annually numbered from forty 
to sixtj^, including a number of young ladies. Besides 
those trained for commercial life, a large number had been 
prepared for college within its walls. Kirkland, who died 
four yetirs before, lived long enough to see his anticipations 
in part realized. IvTot a few of its students rose to distinc- 
tion in the professions and active pursuits of life. Among 
those who honored the Academy, where they received the 
whole or an important part of their education, we recall the 
names of John Colt, Harvey Baldwin, the GtOyerneurs, 
Alpha Miller, GrEORaE Bristol, Ely Burchard, Ira 
Jerome, Eeuben Snowden and Josiah Bacon. These 
are but a part of the list ; for unfortunately no record 
remains of their names, and at this distance of time it is 
impossible to recover them all or even the larger part. But 
of one thing we are sure ; the influence of the Academy 
upon this section of the State had been most happy in 
assisting to mould society and give it that character for 
intelligence and morality which it has ever since maintained. 
Men die, but the influence of these institutions is transmitted 
through them to posterity. Every light kindled on that 
hill has been used to kindle other lights; every father, 



12 HISTOEICAL DISCOUESE. 

mother, teaclier, niinister. lawyer, mercliant, yea every liv- 
ing actor ill the world of mind, ^Yho there canght the enthu- 
siasm of learning and religion, and went forth to the work 
of life, has multiplied and diffused that enthusiasm through 
the societies in which »they Mioved, And though the old 
Academy is gone, and the men who taught there are all 
numbered with the dead, yet its influence still lives and 
works unseen in thousands of hearts. 

Meanwhile a great change has passed over the face of the 
country. Those twenty years since the charter was applied 
for, and those fourteen during which the Academy- was in 
existence, have Avrought wonders. The title of the Indian 
to vast tracts in the central and Avestern portions of the State 
has been extinguished by an equitable purchase, while his 
230sition as a race vanishing away, has been determined by 
causes above the control of statesmen. Into this open field 
men of enterprise had come in great numbers. The log hut 
gave place to the comfortable mansion ; the hamlet had be- 
come a village — the village a town giving promise of those 
cities which were to spring u]3 in the wilderness. Dr. 
DwiGHT need not turn his horse's head eastward, when he 
had reached the line of Property. He realized the long 
cherished aspiration to look upon Magara and listen to that 
voice which through so many centuries had spoken of the 
divine greatness only in the ears of the wild beast and the 
savage. The wise and thoughtful beheld in vision our 
future — grand and wonderful. They saw the necessity for 
a higher institution of learning to bear its part in the educa- 
tion of these accumulated masses. With the excejDtion of 
Columbia College, occupying an isolated position in the city, 
and Union College in the eastern part of the State, there 
was no such institution within her bounds ; none at all for 
the middle and western sections. They resolved here to 
plant such a college ; to give it the prestige which the 
Academy enjoyed; and in this central position build the 
walls Avithin Avhich science and religion should shed their 
united light upon their youth. 

The purpose once formed hastened to its accomjDlishment. 



HISTOKICAL DISCOUKSE. 13 

The trustees of tlie Academy were foremost in tlie matter. 
Fairfield, in Herkimer comity, possessed an Academy, and 
was a rival claimant for the position of the College. So 
they went to Fairfield and secnred the services of the prin- 
cipal, the Rev. Caleb Alexai^tdee, a man of great industry, 
enterprise and perseverance, to secure the funds necessary 
to obtain a charter. The Academy buildings and grounds 
and other property, amounting to $16,000, were to be trans- 
ferred to the trustees of the new institution. In addition to 
this, Mr. Alexander shortly obtained a subscription in 
notes and parcels of land, sufficient to raise the entire 
amount to $50,000. This sum, in those times, was fully 
equal, if you take the value of property into consideration, 
to a gift of one million now. It would be an easier matter 
for the people who now occupy the ground chiefly covered 
by the original subscription, to raise the latter, than it was 
for the people of that day to raise the former. Fifty years 
have given a prodigious expansion to the wealth of this 
region, and ]3i-it it in the power of the people to have ju.st 
such institutions as their numbers require. Among the 
leading subsriptions we find one — the largest — of a thousand 
dollars, by the late Stephen Van Rensselaer, of Albany ; 
another of five hundred dollars by Grovernor Tompkins, 
whose name as chancellor of the regents is affixed to the 
charter. The names of most of the leading citizens of the 
State are fou.nd on the subscription list. They felt the im- 
portance of such an institution to the steady advance of 
science and religion in the State. 

The charter was granted by the regents on the 26th of 
May, 1812. The board of trustees appointed in the charter 
were all men of standing, and some of them of high reputa- 
tion. They immediately proceeded to make arrangements 
for the opening of the College. They repaired and finished 
the old Academy, secured the $50,000 granted b}^ the Legis- 
lature, and elected the Faculty of the College. It is a curi- 
ous fact that one of the first recommendations of the com- 
mittee on College officers, was the appointment of "a 
Professor of Chemistry and Mineralogy ; a Professor of 



14 HISTOEICAL DISCOUESE. 

Surgery and Auatomy ; a Professor of tlie Institutes of 
Medicine, and a Professor of Obstetrics." And among tlie 
first appointments was tliat of Dr. JSToyes, for so many years 
the popular Professor of Cliemistiy, and of Dr. Westel 
"WiLLOUGHBY, Professor of Obstetrics. The latter gentle- 
man did not accept bis appointment, and we bear nothing 
further of the medical professorships until 1843, when Dr. 
HA.STIKGS was appointed Lecturer on Anatomy and Physi- 
ology. The Professorship of Languages was filled by Pre- 
cejDtor Seth Norton ; and the post of Tutor by Theodore 
Strong, who two years afterwards was appointed Professor 
of Mathematics. After some little delay, Eca^ Dr. Azel 
Backus was elected to the Presidency. The faculty then 
consisted of President Backus, Professors T^Toyes and ISToR- 
TON, and Tutor Strong. The College Avas opened on the 
22d of October, 1812. The inauguration of the President 
took place on the third of December following. The exer- 
cises consisted of a discourse by Dr. Backus, a Latin address 
by Professor I^orton, praj^er and reading of the Scriptures 
by EcA^ Dr. Norton and Eca^ Eliphalet Steele. 

The selection of Dr. Azel Backus for the Presidency Avas 
eminently happy. Graduating at Yale College in 1787, he 
Avas in 1789 settled as the successor of Eca^ Dr. BELLA:iiY, — 
one of the greatest and best men 'New England CA'cr pro- 
duced,- — OA^er the Church in Bethlehem, Connecticut. For 
twenty-three years he had continued the pastor of that Church, 
not only standing high in the esteem and affection of his own 
people, but regarded by the public at large, as one of the 
brightest lights of his natiA^e State. His character stood so 
high that in 1798 he Avas selected by Goa'. Wolcott to preach 
the Election Sermon before the Legislature. He Avas one 
of the youngest men on AYlioni this distinguished honor Avas 
conferred. This Sermon not only gaA^e him a reputation 
for effective pulpit talents in this country but- in England, 
AA^here it was tAvice republished. Something more, howcA^er, 
ATas necessary to fit him for his new position than simply 
those qualities Avhich enabled him to discharge the duties of 
a country pastorate. While in College, Dr. Backus had 



HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 15 

taken liigli rank as a scliolar, and during liis entire min- 
istry lie bad charge of a private scliool in wliicli a large 
number of young men were fitted for college. He thus 
perfected his scholarship in most of the branches deemed 
essential to a liberal education, and exhibited great tact in 
the government of youth. He had now reached the ripe age 
of forty-seven. He was in the full maturity of his powers, and 
enjoyed the unbounded confidence of the friends of educa- 
tion. Portly in figure, positive and often A' ehement in the 
expression of his sentiments, he united with the dignity of 
the old school of manners, a geniality that made him a 
uniA'crsal favorite. His native wit and sarcasm, weapons 
that he used Avith freedom against pretension and folly, 
have in some minds OA^ershadowed those truly great and 
noble qualities Avhich lifted him above ordinary men. As 
a speaker he Avas direct, forcible, clear and deeply earnest. 
He grappled with truth as a master, and flung it forth with 
a careless elegance and enthusiasm that attracted all classes. 
Deeply moved himself, he never preached Avithout leaAdng 
some impressions that remained in the minds of his hearers. 
This man of large culture, of keen Avit, often of great stern- 
ness in dealing with indiA^idual folly and wickedness, be- 
came a child Avhen he entered the pulpit, and spoke the 
truth Avith tears. His practical wisdom and tact were of 
great importance in the foundation of this Institution. He 
introduced the order and discipline of the older Colleges. 
As a teacher, his ability to go direct to the heart of a sub- 
ject, his poAver of suggesting and of stimulating thought, his 
forcible enunciation of great principles and the poAver with 
which he dissected error, placed him high as an educator. 
His name was a toAver of strength abroad. In full sympa- 
thy with the churches, often called to Adsit them, command- 
ing the rcA^erence and respect of the ministry and the lead 
ing minds in civil life, he had begun the work of installing 
this Institution in the affections of those whose influence 
was able to make it a great light in the world. 

In his inaugural discourse he thus speaks on the subject 
of education, and expresses his own a^cav of the responsibili- 



16 HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 

ties lie is about to assume : "It is no trifling office I am 
called to fill. I need not magnify it. Its consequences may 
reach to unborn myriads in eternity. ISTo trifling considera- 
tion would have led me to tear myself or suffer mj^self tobe 
torn from tlie embraces of an affectionate people." "Mere 
science, without moral and religious liabits, is a curse, and 
not a blessing to tlie community. Better for a youtli, and 
for ciAdl society, that he had lived in ignorance, than that 
he should issue from a college Avith irreligious and im- 
moral principles. Such as contract Aacious habits in an 
academic course are more dangerous than madmen, armed 
with instruments of death, and let loose among the defense- 
less inhabitants of a A-illage. Let it ncA'cr be imagined then 
that the sole object of education is to make youth acquainted 
with languages, sciences and arts. The gOA^ernors and in- 
structors of a literary institution OAA^e to Grod and society 
the sacred duty of guarding the morals of the youth com- 
mitted to their care. An attention to order, and the early 
formation of habits of industry and iuA^estigation, I A^enture 
to assert, are of more importance than mere knowledge.''' 
In alluding to the scene there enacted, he says Avith great 
beauty: "Let it not be forgotten this day, that the deep 
reflecting mind of Kirkla^'D looked forward to these solem- 
nities. Though his remains lie low in the narrow house, 
future generations may pour their blessings on his memory 
for his charity and prayers. The A^enerable old man saAA^ this 
day afar off and rejoiced." Thus spake our First President ; 
these AYcre the Christian principles, as true uoaa' as Avhen they 
Avere spoken, on AA'hich he sought to build this Institution. 
His early death, due mediately to his self-sacrifice and dcA^o- 
tion to the' sick, prcA'cnted the completion of his Avork. 
But his short administration of four years fully justified the 
successful auguries of his friends. His de^^arture Avas like 
the oA^erclouding of the sun at mid-day. On the 28th of De- 
cember, 1816, this gTeat light was obscured. His dust re- 
poses in our College cemetery ; his name, his fame, his lofty 
character are a precious heritage AA^hich the sons of Hamil- 
ton will CA^er cherish. 



HISTOEICAL DISCOUESE. 17 

In tlie fall of 1817, tlie Kev. Dr. Davis entered npon the 
dnties of his office, as the Second President of this Institu- 
tion. His life, since boyhood, had all been spent in college. 
Grraduating at Yale in 1796, he was appointed tntor in Wil- 
liams, and subseqn.ently transferred to the same position in 
his Alma Mater. Discharging the duties of this office with 
great fidelity, he was in 1801 elected to the Professorship 
of Divinit}^, but his health prevented his acceptance. In 
1806 he was elected to the Professorship of Languages in 
Union College, and in 1809 transferred to the Presidency of 
Middlebury College. At the time of his accession to the 
Presidency of Hamilton College, he was in the full maturity 
of his powers and reputation. No man in New England 
stood higher, in the estimation of those accustomed to weigh 
public men, for those scholarly accomplishments, that ex- 
ecutive ability and high moral character, essential to con- 
stitute an able president. His almost simultaneous election 
to fill the chairs vacated by the death of Dr. Dwight in 
Yale and Dr. Backus in Hamilton, establishes this fact. 
To his accurate scholarship, he united an indomitable will, 
a love of his profession, great dignity of character, a strong 
sense of what was due to his position, a steady purpose to 
maintain the right and the fitting in the face of all opposi- 
tion. As a preacher, Dr. Davis stood high. His reputa- 
tion in this respect lead to his election to the Divinity Pro- 
fessorship at Yale. His style was clear, his thoughts 
profound, his manner forcible and impressive. Had he 
given himself to this part of his work, he woidd have had 
few superiors. His sermons arrested attention and instructed 
the hearer. Without the peculiar emotion of his predeces- 
sor, he yet so presented his subject, with that j,ust analysis 
and strength of expression, as to make it a power of influence 
over the heart. Familiar with the methods of education in 
our older Institutions, he came here prepared to carry them 
out to the full extent of his ability. Lacking somewhat in 
that breadth and comprehensiveness of mind which is ordi- 
narily acquired only by a large intercourse with the world 
outside of college walls, he was not readily tolerant of in- 



18 HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 

novations, nor perhaps as ready, as mtli a somewhat differ- 
ent training lie would have been, to adapt his plans to the 
adA^ancing state of society. Naturally and by education 
conservative, a man of method, cast in the iron mould of a 
Jackson, and without the power of accommodation that 
characterized a Clay, with a strong sense of right and justice 
and an inflexible purpose to foUoAv wherever they led, a 
thorough gentleman, full of kindness and Christian feeling, 
commanding the respect of friends and opponents in all his 
social .intercourse ; such was the man who for sixteen 3^ears 
presided over this Institution, and carried it through the most 
perilous and trying period of its history. 

What now was the position of the College at the 
time of his accession and during his presidency? Mate- 
rially, there were on the grounds, the old Academy, 
South College or Hamilton Hall, the Commons Hall, 
now used for the Cabinet, and the President's house. 
These were ample accommodations for th^ number of 
students then in attendance. The number was about fifty. 
The Faculty consisted of Professors Notes, Norton and 
Strong-, with a tutor. The death of Dr. Backus occurred 
while every thing in and about the Institution was still in- 
choate and unformed. A College, especially in a new 
^country, cannot be extemporized nor instantly created. It 
must grow like any other solid product. It must possess 
an organic life, and that life must have time to develop 
itself and become vigorous and strong. An administration 
of four years is not suf&cient to reach this result. The re- 
lations of the Faculty to the Students, the relations of the 
Trustees to the Faculty, the habits of College life and the 
modes of disci^Dline and study can be fully settled only after 
sufficient time has elapsed to constitute a broad experience in 
the light of which the proper adjustments may be made. An 
interregnum of nearly a year occurred just at this the most 
critical period, AA^hen in this partiall}' formed state the College 
Avas Avithout a head. The ucav President entered u.pon his 
office with almost CA^ery thing to settle. The Trustees were 
men of high character, full of enterprise, and intent upon 



HISTOEICAL DISCOUESE. 19 

tlie great work of placing tlie .College on a firm and high, 
position. But some of them were young and impetuous, 
not yet informed as to what was the best course to be pur- 
sued, imagining that a collegiate institution was to be built 
up and managed like any other enterprise of common life. 
They did not always know when it was best for them to 
interfere, nor when interference, even if Avithin their own 
discretionary power, would work harm rather than benefit. 
All this may be said Avithout impeaching motives or attrib- 
uting to them any thing more than that lack of a just ap- 
preciation of their position and relations to the authority of 
the College, which perhaps only experience could supply. 

Meanwhile society outside was in a peculiar condition. 
During the administration of President Davis there arose a 
most extraordinary fermentation, pervading all classes of so- 
ciety, and reaching to almost every sn.bject of thought and 
action. Society had just passed its childhood and was now 
in the transition period of youth — a period when principles 
were to be settled, foundations examined and modes of 
thought adjusted for its maturer manhood. In politics the 
old landmarks were gone ; new and exciting questions stirred 
the hearts of the people ; political parties Avere struggling out 
of chaos into new forms. In religion, the same process, in a, 
still more marked degree, was visible. There Avas abroad a 
deep and uncontrollable excitement. Ncav methods of ad- 
A^ancing religion were attempted ; ncAV principles and doc- 
trines were discussed ; the old were qu.estioned, doubted, re- 
sisted ; the fire of a ncAv-born enthusiasm filled the heart, and 
quickened the intellect. The old landmarks AA^ere lost sight 
of ; the old fortresses Avent down. A ncAV era of progress 
seemed dawning upon the Avorld. 

This excitement did not limit itself to politics and relig- 
ion. It invaded the realm of education ■ it questioned the 
old methods of mental discipline ; it arraigned, tried, and 
condemned the classics ; it swept aAvay, Avith its fiery breath, 
the forms, and methods, and processes of intellectual culture 
in accordance Avith Avhich, ever since the rcA^ival of letters, 
the mind of the civilized Avorld had been trained to thoug^ht 



20 HISTORICAL DISCOUESE. 

and expression. It created institutions where, witli new 
methods of mental development, there should be associated 
the toil of physical labor — and thus it sought to give at 
once vigor to bod}' and mind. It was the age of exj^eriment. 
Disdaining the cautious inductions of experience, it at- 
tempted intuitively to solve the gravest problems. Instead 
of that healthy progress which, by a natural law, grows out 
of increasing light and changed conditions, it made its own 
fervid imaginations and crude reasonings the basis of action, 
and sought to force the calmer intellect of the time into the 
channels it had thus created. Such was the character of 
this period. 

Now introduce into this position — a position confessedly 
one of the most important and influential, which stands re- 
lated A'itally to the most precious interests of society, civil, 
literary and religious ; — ^introduce a man like President 
Davis, with his clear intellect and inexorable logic, with his 
positive character and earnest spirit, with his conservative 
temper and attachment to the methods in which he had 
been trained, with his one ideal of what a College should 
be and of the part which he should act in governing and 
establishing it, and what else could be expected, but that 
there Avould be occasional friction, that differences would 
arise in respect to which he would feel compelled to follow 
out his convictions of right, whatever might be the con- 
sequences. 

There was another circumstance which A^ery much aggra- 
vated the difficulties of his position. During the first years 
of his administration the number of students had increased 
from fifty to over one hundred. The trustees, anticipating a 
still greater advance, began the erection of new College build- 
ings. Within a short time the Chapel, Kirkland and 
Dexter Halls were built, although only two of these were 
finished. This involved a large expenditure of the funds 
which should have been kept sacred for purposes of revenue. 
The natural result soon followed. They found themselves 
in the condition of a man who had spent all his means in 
building a large house, for which he had no present use. 



HISTOEICAL DISCOURSE. 21 

The income derived from tlie students was wholly insuffi- 
cient to defray the current expenses, and the resources which 
should have been devoted to making up the deficiency 
were invested in stone and mortar. 

It will not be expected of me to descend into the arena 
of this controvers}^. The chief principle involved, was the 
necessity of a firm siipport of the authority of the College by 
the trustees — the necessity of committing the internal regu- 
lation of its affairs to the faculty, and of abstaining from all 
acts which would impair their authority when acting in 
their appropriate sphere. The immediate results of the con- 
troversy were disastrous, but the President, sustained by the 
consciousness of right, stood firm. Many of the trustees 
gave him their hearty support, iind at length the College 
emerged from its state of depression and once more went 
on its way with renewed energy. 

The health of Dr. Davis had suffered early in life from 
too close application. His constitution, thus impaired, never 
recovered its original vigor. Having formed the purpose m 
middle life, to retire from all public employment when he 
arrived at the age of sixty, the College being now in a position 
when he could leave without dishonor and injury, he re- 
signed his office. His interest in the Institution remained 
as great as before. As a trustee he counseled and aided 
the Corporation. The closing years of his life, passed amid 
great bodily infirmities, were spent in the bosom of his own 
family and surrounded by attached friends. As a Christian 
he bore his sufferings with quiet submission, cheered by the 
hopes of that Gospel he had so long preached. At length, 
in a good old age, respected and beloved, and by the grace 
of God made meet for the heaA'cnly inheritance, he rested 
from his labors and Avent up to meet his God. 

In the fall of 1833, the Eev. Sereno Edwards Davight, 
D. D., entered upon the duties of the Presidency. Gradua- 
ting in 1803 at Yale College, he filled the office of tutor in 
that Institution from 1806 till 1810. He then commenced 
the practice of the law. After several years successfully 
spent in this profession, he studied for the ministry, and in 



22 HISTOKICAL DISCOUESE. 

1817 was settled as tlie pastor of tlie Park Street Clmrcli, 
Boston. Here he labored for over ten years with gi-eat suc- 
cess. While in this position his health became seriously 
impaired, and he contracted a disease which shed its darken- 
ing influence over all the remainder of his life. He was a 
man of much natural ability and admirable culture. An 
earnest and acceptable preacher, an elegant scholar, ap- 
proved as an instructor, he had many of -the qualifications 
which fit a man for this new position. His short adminis- 
tration of two years was distinguished b}' two things, which 
deserve mention here. He spent the first year, in connec- 
tion with the present senior Professor, in securing what has 
since been denominated the permanent fund, amounting to 
$10,000. The second event was the settlement of the ques- 
tion respecting the location of the College. At the first es- 
tablishment of the College, Clinton was in all res|)ects as 
eligible a position as any of the surrounding towns. But as 
the lines of travel centered at Utica, and that place soon took 
the lead and assumed its present importance, it Avas natural 
that her citizens should desire to have the College located 
in their immediate vicinity. On this condition many of the 
subscriptions to the permanent fund had been made. The 
subject was maturely considered by the Corporation ; its 
legal and social aspects examined ; the adA' antages and dis- 
advantages estimated, and after protracted discussion, it 
was finally decided that it must remain where its original 
founder had planted it. This decision alienated for a time 
some of the Avarm friends of the Institution in that city. 
Dr. DwiGHT had committed himself to it, and his couaHlc- 
tions of its propriety and necessity were A^ery strong. This 
couA^iction, in connection Avith the insufficiency of the en- 
dowment, led him to resign his ofl&ce AA^hen an adA^erse de- 
cision AA^as made. 

At this time the faculty consisted of ~ Profs. JSTorth, La- 
THROP, Aa^eey and Catli:n^, and Tutor Eoot. Prof. l^OR- 
Tox Avas dead, Dr. Is'oyes had resigned and Prof Steok'G 
had accepted a Professorship in Rutger's College. The orig- 
inal faculty at the accession of Dr. Davis had all ceased to act. 



HISTOKICAL DISCOUESE. 23 

During tlie same period, Profs. Hadley, Monteith, Bae- 
EOWS, KiEKLAi^D aiid Wayland, had been connected witli 
tlie College for a longer or shorter time. 

In tlie fall of 1835, the Rev. Joseph Peni^ey, D. D., then 
pastor of the First Church in Northampton, Mass., was 
elected to the Presidency, and entered upon his of&ce. Dr. 
Penney was a native of Ireland. He studied at Trinity 
College, Dublin, and finished his University edu.cation at 
Grlasgow, in 1813. In these Institutions he was distinguished 
as a thorough and accurate scholar. In the spring of 1819, 
after being licensed to preach, he came to this country, and 
for two years taught an Academy at Flushing, Long Island. 
In 1821 he became pastor of the First Church in Eochester, 
where for eleven years he was one of the most beloved and 
useful pastors that city has ever had. In 1832, he accepted 
the pastorship of the First Church in Northampton, with 
the hope of regaining his health impaired by his labors in 
Rochester. As a preacher, pastor and scholar. Dr. Penney 
had few superiors. In the words of one who knew him 
well, it may be said, that "his mental characteristics were, 
keen logical acumen, a good memory, a comprehensive 
power of generalization, a quick understanding of the true 
relations of things, by which sophisms were instantly de- 
tected and every subject of knowledge that came into his 
possession, was at once assigned to its place and relations to 
other things, so as to require no future change in its po- 
sition or the estimate of its nature and importance, " " With 
such a mind, active, acute and comprehensive, he amassed 
an amount of .knowledge in every department of science? 
literature and the arts, that made him always the welcome 
companion if not the instructor of those who occupied the 
first rank in their several vocations." In the administration 
of the affairs of the College he succeeded to some of the difii- 
culties which had embarrassed his jDredecessors, and which it 
required time wholly to remove. His foreign education may 
also have contributed somewhat to heighten these difficul- 
ties. He felt them however so deeply that greatly to the 
regret of the trustees and against their earnest request, he 



24 HISTOEICAL DISCOURSE. 

resigned Ms position in the spring of 1839. Eesiding sub- 
sequently at l^ew York, Nyack, and Grrand Eapids, lie 
was near the close of life a great sufferer from the palsj. 
He returned to Eochester, and there, amidst his old parish- 
ioners, in the full enjoyment of the Christian hope, he di^d 
in March, 1860. During his administration the Dexter Pro- 
fessorship was founded, and the State made a grant of $3,000 
annually to the College. The larger trees which now adorn 
the College Campus Avere planted under his superintendence, 
and the College began to assume a new position in the eyes 
of the community. 

Thus far we have dwelt upon the administration of those 
who have passed away. We come now to the acts and in- 
fluences of those vf ho are living. Obviously the time has not 
yet arrived to write this portion of the history of Hamilton. 
In many respects, however, this is the most important period 
in its history. You will permit me, therefore, to give you a 
brief summary of what has been accomplished. We trust it 
will be many years before any one will be called to write 
the epitaph or describe the character of him, who during 
this time filled the Presidency of this Institution. 

Serus in caelum redeas diuque 
Laetus intersis nobis. 

President E'orth Avas elected Professor of the Latin and 
Grreek Languages ip. 1829. HaAung filled this ofS.ce for ten 
years with great acceptance, he was in the spring of 1839 
elected to the Presidency, and in the summer of 1857 he 
resigned that office. His Presidency coA^ers eighteen years 
of the most prosperous and successful period of our history ; 
while his connection with the Institution measures nearly 
three-fifths of its existence, and is equalled only by that of 
our present senior professor. During this period the In- 
stitution has passed through yerj great changes. He came 
here at the time of its greatest depression, when there were 
but nine students in attendance ; he has seen it steadily 
advance from that point to its present position.' 



HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 25 

The clianges wliicb. have taken place dLiriiig the time of 
his administration, as they indicate the progress made, de- 
mand a specific enumeration. In Natural Science, Geology 
and Mineralogy were added to the professorship of Mathe- 
matics, and received a greater degree of attention. The 
department of Elocution and Rhetoric was organized under 
Dr. Majstdeyille, and has since been made very ef&cient in 
the training of the students. Before this, instruction on 
these subjects had been given by the President. The May- 
nard Department of Law, Political Economy and History, 
was organized with Professor Dwight as its first occupant. 
Professor Lathrop had previously given instruction to some 
extent on these subjects; but the bequest of Mr. Maynard 
was not available until the appointment of Professor Dwight, 
and its present organization dates from that time. The 
Professorship of Moral Philosophy and Religious Instruc- 
tion constitutes the fourth of the departments then estab- 
lished. The study of the Modern Languages, i. e., the French 
and German, occupying the time of one recitation for a 
single term of the Sophomore and Junior years, was also 
introduced. These Avere all important changes, the effect 
of which upon the general discipline of the students, has 
been most marked and happy. 

The material improvements in the buildings and grounds 
of the Institution, have been not less marked."" The old 



* As early as the year 1805, an effort was made to improve the College 
grounds by planting the Lombardy Poplar, a tree which then stood high 
in the estimation of men of taste. The young trees were provided by Rev. 
Samuel Kirldand, and the planting was done by Mr. Charles Anderson. 
The road leading up College Hill was lined with poplars on either side. 
A row of them was planted in front of the College buildings, with another 
row in the rear. Most of these trees have been removed, at various times, 
to make room for others that are more desirable. 

What was called the College Campus, a rectangular plot of four acres, was 
graded and fenced in 1826-7. Two or three years later, a row of elms was 
planted along the stone wall that bounded the Campus on the east, by 
Othniel Williams, then Treasurer of the College. The larger groups of 
maple and ash trees which now embellish the grounds in front of the Col- 
leges, were planted by President Penney, in 183G. 

In 1853, the plan of modernizing the style of the College grounds, was 



26 HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 

Oneida Academy Hall was removed dming Dr. Dayis' ad- 
ministration, in tlie fall of 1830. Since liis accession to the 
Presidency, Dexter Hall was completed by a special sub- 
scription raised for tliat purpose by President IvTorth. Tlien 
tlie old Commons Hall, no longer necessary for boarding- 
purposes, was fitted up as a Mineralogical and Geological 
Cabinet, and Professor Boot's collection purcliased and 
placed in it. Tlie Grymnasium, tbe Laboratory, and the Obser- 
vatory were all built and furnished. The grounds to the 
east of the College lot were purchased, the President's house 
removed back to its present position and the grounds laid 
out as w^e noAv see them. 

The funds necessary for making these improvements and 
the establishment of the Professorship of Moral Philosophy, 
were raised in part by Dr. L. E. Lathrop, of Auburn, but 
mostl}' b_A^ Professor Avery. The system adopted Avas that 
of scholarships, Avhich seemed at the time to work Avell. Its 

undertaken by a few individuals, who contributed $1,000 to a fund for this 
purpose. This sum proved to be insufficient, and the Trustees of the Col- 
lege finally appropriated about $5,000 to complete the work proposed by 
the curators of the College grounds Their plan was to bring under culti- 
vation about tAventy acres of land immediately surrounding the College 
buildings. This would include the plot especially designated for an orna- 
mental garden by Mr. Kirkland, in his deed to the Trustees of the Hamilton 
Oneida Academy. The contribiitors to the fund of $1,000, were Charles 
Avery, Josiah Bacon, B. W. D wight A. D. Gridley, J. C. Hastings, Simeon 
North, 0. Root, Edward North, A. J. Upson and 0. S. Williams. They 
appointed J. C. Hastings, Esq., Professor 0. Root and Rev. A. D. Gridley to 
act as curators of the College grounds, and directed that the improvements 
should he made according to a plan proposed by Mr. Hastings. 

The changes wrought out by the curators included a new system of drives 
and walks, the removal of the stone wall and poplar trees in front of the 
College buildings, the removal of the President's house to a position further 
west, the planting of boundary hedges and oi'naraental trees. The curators 
are already receiving a reward of gratitude for their skillful, patient and 
generous labor in superintending these improvements. A beautiful feature 
in the College garden, as now laid out, is the Pinetum, commenced by Rev. 
A. D. Gridley, which contains a large number of hardy evergreens, and is 
to be enriched by additions in coming years. Valuable donations of trees, 
shrubs and plants, have also been received from Mr. Charles Downing, 
Newburgh, and Messrs. Hovey & Co., Boston, Messrs. EUwanger and Barry 
and Messrs. Frost & Co., Rochester. 



HISTORICAL DISCOUESE. 27 

immediate results were a great increase of students, and tlie 
erection of tlie several buildings already enumerated. But 
tlie remoter results liave not been so bappy. IsTot to speak 
of the failure of about lialf of tlie subscriptions to the Moral 
Pliilosopliy Professorsliip, tlie system of scliolarsliips itself, 
especially Avlien tliey are so small as to yield no adequate 
income wben invested, and more tlian tbis, wben tliey are 
invested in unproductive capital, is always disastrous. Tbe 
revenue of tlie Institution is diminisbed, and to a certain 
extent entirely lost for years. Tbis in turn produces debt, 
embarrassment, and in many cases in our country lias 
issued in utter bankruptcy. Tbe results in our case, tliougb 
not so disastrous, bave been suf&ciently so to constitute a 
bealtbful warning for tbe future. Tbe President foreseeing 
tbis, opposed tbe investment of tbese funds to so large an 
extent in buildings wliicli yield notbing. Meanwbile, tbe 
State witbdrew its annual appropriation, and left tbe In- 
stitution to tbe care of tliose wbo felt an interest in its 
support. 

In spite, bowever, of tbis drawback, tbe advance made 
during tbis period was very great. Its wbole culture was 
broader and more complete ; its classes large and well 
trained; its professorships manned by men eminently 
skilled in tbeir departments ; and its facilities for effective 
work greatly enlarged. Tbe foundation laid was broad and 
substantial, on wbicb to rear one of tbe finest colleges in 
tbe Union. 

In tbe review of tbis entire period since its establisbment, 
two or tliree tilings stand out as marked cbaracteristics. 
In tbe first place, its scbolarsbip bas been uniformly bigli 
and tborougb. It bas aimed to train men for tbe real work 
of life, and in doing tbis to make tlieni accurate and pro- 
found ; to develop tbe mind as a power of tbougbt and 
qualify its students for effective work. It bas preferred tbe 
solid to tbe brilliant, tbat wbicb would constitute true 
power ratlier tban tbe superficial accomplisbments wbicb 
glitter for a day. It bas cliosen rather to send out yearly 
a score of men tborougbly informed and rigbtly drilled, 



28 HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 

than to quadruple tlie number and give its diploma to 
many wlio could hardly translate what it contained. 

In the next place, it has been well remarked that its 
character has been both conservative and progressive. It 
stood up under Dr. Davis manfully against the radical 
elements which sought to change its whole course of disci- 
pline and introduce methods which time has since shown 
to be ruinous. Its present position, compared with the past, 
is the finest illustration of its spirit of healthful progress. 

But more important than these is the fact that it has from 
the beginning been a Christian College. It has under all 
its Presidents steadily aimed to fulfill the purpose of its 
founder, to enlarge the kingdom of the Eedeemer ; to train 
Christian scholars ; to spread an intelligence consecrated by 
the spirit of the Gospel ; to bless its students with the hopes 
of religion, that they might be prepared to create those 
hopes in others. From the very foundation of the Acade- 
my, down through this history of nearly seventy years, 
revivals of religion have illustrated the power of its Christ- 
ian life, and from its halls men have gone forth in large 
numbers to preach the Grospel at home, plant new churches 
in the heathen world, or in other professions to maintain the 
Christian character and do battle against the forces of infi- 
delity. Of this record of her sons, Avhether it stand alone 
or beside that of any college in the land, she has no reason 
to be ashamed. 

I have spoken onh' of the presiding of&cers of this Insti- 
tution. But if we look beyond them, we shall see cause for 
gratulation in respect to most of those who have been influ- 
ential in forming its character and contributing to its success. 
That character is due largely to its instructors, is reflected 
by its trustees and illustrated in its sons. 

Of the Avorthy men who have from time to time formed 
its board of instruction and who still live, I may not speak. 
Some of them have in other positions, commanded the re- 
spect and influenced for good the character of multitudes. 
But of some of those who haA^e gone from this earthly 
sphere, AAdio cannot be affected by our Avords, yet whose 



HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 29 

characters form part of the treasured jewels of this College, 
it may be permitted me to say a few words. There was 
Norton, who became Preceptor of the Academy in 1805, 
and, with the exception of a single year of labor in his Alma 
Mater, continued in connection with it, and then with the 
College, until his lamented death in 1818. He was a man 
of few words, of quiet, unobtrusive deportment, of genuine 
amiability, yet of decision and energy as a disciplinarian. 
He was specially devoted to his own department, the lan- 
guages, and in that he excelled. Prompt, clear, thorough, 
he early gave to this Institution the high character for 
classical drill and scholarship, which his successors have so 
well maintained. The sorrow which President Dayis felt 
over his death, and the opinion he years afterwards ex- 
pressed, that his early departure was for the time a great 
loss to the Institution, was reflected in the feeling and sen- 
timent of his pupils, the trustees and the community who 
had learned to value his worth. After President Backus, 
he was the first of our stars that set to rise in undjdng 
brilliancy. 

There was Notes, the classmate and warm j^ersonal friend 
of Webster, for eighteen years filling the chair of Chem- 
istry and Natural Philosophy ; a man for that time and in 
respect to a science then in its infancy, accomplished in his 
profession ; fond of analysis, ready in invention, unselfish 
in spirit, originating that which enriched others rather than 
himself ; of an active rather than a methodical mind, and in 
this respect better fitted to invent and discover than to com- 
municate the result of his own labors. His method of puri- 
fying salt from foreign ingredients has made the State richer 
by millions, and entitled him to the gratitude of the people. 
Both Dr. Notes and Professor Norton were prominent in 
the establishment of the College. Professor Norton, as 
Preceptor of the Academy, worked with great diligence and 
success. He was the center around which the Institution 
at first crystalized ; whose spirit largely animated others in 
the work. Dr. Notes was chiefly instrumental in procur- 
ing the grant of funds from the State, and with Professor 



30 HISTORICAL DISCOUESE. 

NoETOX, formed tlie original Facility. He removed from 
Fairfield, wliere lie was then Professor in tlie Medical Col- 
lege, and devoted himself with all his energy to the estab- 
lishment of this Institution. He died in a good old age, in 
1853, after seeing the College attain a high position, and in 
the enjoyment of the respect and friendship of many who 
had been his pupils and of the community at large. 

There was Catkin, an alumnus of the class 1827, a tutor 
in 1831, Professor of Mathematics in 1834, translated to a 
higher sphere in 1839. A scholar of rare merit ; a man of 
clear, vigorous intellect ; a Christian of humble, unobtru- 
siA^e piety ; a friend, of warm, constant affections ; one whom 
his pupils esteemed for his sterling worth and loved for his 
simple, unostentatious life and warm interest in their suc- 
cess ; whom his associates respected and society confided in 
as true and solid in all his acqusitions and spirit; he 
adorned his chair and gave promise of greater usefulness, 
Avhen he was cut down by the hand of death. 

Standing along side of him was Fixley Smith, of the 
class of 1831, who began his career as an instructor in 1838, 
and finished his earthly course in 1813. His brief life was 
that of a brio-ht star, clouded long; before it had reached the 
meridian. Full of talent, original, impulsive, warm in his 
affections, his soul full of sweet harmonies, and accomplished 
not only in his own department, but in the science of music, 
he went ere yet he had reached the full ripeness of years, to 
join that sacred throng, who know no discords, but whose 
lives are an unceasing harmony, a glorious psalm of praise 
to him who loved them and washed them in his blood. 

Then there were Baeeows and Kiekland, for brief 
periods successful laborers in this field, but now gone up- 
ward. 

There was Dr. Heney Mandeville, whose acquaintance 
I first formed as one of my successors in Albany, and who 
at once impressed himself upon me as no common man. 
Developing early fine powers as a speaker and uniting with 
these great devotion to his work, he illustrated in the dif- 
ferent important positions he was called to fill, those high 



HISTORICAL DISCOUESE. 31 

qualities wliicli command respect, and nnder God, ensure 
success. He came to tliis Institution in 18-il, and for eiglit 
years filled tlie cliair of Elocution and Elietoric. He found 
the de|)artment unorganized and tlie duties belonging to it 
performed by tlie President, as lie could afford time from liis 
multifarious labors. He set liimself to Avork to make it tlie 
power and give it the position to which its importance en- 
titles it. He wrote here his system of Elocution, basing it 
upon the principle enunciated by Walker, that the struc- 
ture of the sentence should control its delivery— the only 
true philosophical idea of a sound elocution. With this 
theory he organized a corresponding discipline. He infused 
his own enthusiasm into the hearts of his pupils. He thus 
gave to this department its original form and impulse. He 
stamped upon it that high character, which has since been 
so successfully maintained by his pupil and successor — a 
character in this respect second to none of, if not superior 
to all, the institutions in our land. He was in the language 
of another, "the eloquent and able preacher, the faithful 
and well-beloved pastor, the ripe, accomplished scholar, the 
close and earnest thinker." He died, a victim to his own 
devotion to the spiritual welfare of his flock, and thus 
another of our stars was fixed in the firmament to shine 
evermore. 

There is still another, the Tutor in 1(812, the Professor of 
Mathematics in 1814, taken from us by another Institution 
in 1828, the able, clear-minded Strong. He yet survives, 
and it is not for us to anticipate his epitajDh. Bn.t you will 
pardon the indecorum, if such it may be called, of saying 
that in his department he shone as a light of the first mag- 
nitude ; that his enthusiasm as a teacher aAvakened that of 
his pupils, Avhile his clear demonstrations and his admirable 
management of his department, made the hidden intricacies 
of his science a broad highway on which his students loved 
to walk. 

These are specimens of the men who liaA^e vitally aftected 
the character of this College from its origin. Others there 
are, equally noble, learned and useful, noAV doing duty in 



32 • HISTOEICAL DISCOUESE. 

otlier departments of life, wlio liereafter Avill be euslirined 
by the future liistorian, among our jewels. 

Let us turn now to tliose wlio liaye bad tbe care of tbis 
Institution — tbe members of tbe Corporation, in Avliose 
bands its interests baA^e been placed. Wbat a list of men 
bonored in tbe State and Cburcb does tbe record sbow ! 
At tbe bead of tbe list stands tbe bonored name of Heney 
HuKTiKGTON, and following it a constellation of rare brill- 
iancy. Tbere is Caenahais", tbe rcA'-ered President of Nas- 
sau Hall ; and Lansifg, tbe eloquent, tbe founder of Auburn 
Seminary ; and Platt, tbe able jurist ; and NoETO^, tbe 
wise pastor; and Antho]^, tbe scbolar; and Kendeick, 
full of tbe spirit of missions, and one of tbe founders of tbe 
Theological Seminar}^, AA^bicli has now groAA^i into Madison 
University; and Seymoue and Bacox, Kieklaxd and 
Adams, Laaveence and G-eidley, Davight and Beok'son", 
and Yates and Lotheop ; — but Avby do I enumerate ? Tbe 
wbole list is one of tbe most remarkable to be found in 
connection witb any college in tbe Union. Men Avise in 
tbeir generation, strong in intellect, full of enterprise, tbe 
recipients of bonor and respect from tbe State and tbe 
Cburcb, illustrate its annals and sbed tbe brilliancy of tbeir 
fame around tbe Institution tbey founded or cberisbed. 
From tbis illustrious roll of tbose Avbo liaA^'C ascended above 
tbe reacb of buman eulogy, a sense of bis signal serAdces, 
in barmony Avitb a personal friendsbip, leads me to select 
one as a bright example of many. No one, I am sure, ac- 
quainted Avith the man and bis relations to this College, 
will deem it improper, on an occasion like tbis, to giA^e spe- 
cial prominence to tbe name of Joshua A. Spencee. As 
a lawyer be illustrated and ennobled bis j)rofession in tbe 
courts of this State and those of tbe United States. With 
indomitable perseverance and untiring diligence, he largely 
overcame tbe defects of bis early education, and in the face 
of obstacles that would have deterred most men, he Avorked 
his way to a position at the bar, among the first j|i the land. 
But his distinction arose not alone from his intellectual 
energy ; it was higher than that Avon by forensic triumphs. 



HISTORICAL DISCOUESE. 38 

He was a man of noble and generous im]3iilses ; liis nnself- 
isli spirit prompted him to act for others, while religion con- 
secrated all that was natural and superadded its own pecul- 
iar excellence. His interest in the cause of Education, 
heightened perhaps b}^ the difficulties he had himself to en- 
counter, was deep and permanent. From the time Avhen he 
was elected a member of this Corporation until the hour of 
his death, he was most active and efficient in promoting its 
interests. ISTot merely did he work for us, when present 
here as a tru.stee, but in all places and at all proper times, 
when at home and attending the courts throughout the 
State, he never lost sight of this Institution. Its import- 
ance, present and prospective, as a power to bless the State 
and advance the best interests of humanity, grew upon him 
from month to month. He saw, as few men seem to see, 
the latent forces concealed from the multitude, which here 
might work to mould society. Animated by this spirit, 
possessed of these profound and far-reaching views, he threw 
his whole soul into the work of aiding to establish, enlarge 
and strengthen it. And when he passed away the trustees 
and the faculty felt as if a right arm was palsied, one of 
our ablest benefactors had gone from us. Let us cherish 
his memory and that of all those who in his 230sition have 
wrought for these high interests. Let us look back upon 
this proud roll of our corporators with that generous pride, 
which sons should ever feel in those who have contributed 
their influence and strength to give them that richest of all 
earthly benedictions, a genuine Christian and liberal edu- 
cation.^" 

But there are others who to-day deserve grateful mention ; 
men both in the board and out of it, who have won a title to our 

*From the foundation of the College, there have been in Clinton, a con- 
stant succession of trustees who deserve honorable mention. Among them 
may be named Rev. Asahel S. Norton, who was a member of the Board for 
more than thirty years, Joel Bristol, Dr. Sewell Hopkins, Dr. Seth Hast- 
ings, Orrin Gridley and George Bristol. These gentlemen served as mem- 
bers of the l&ecutive Committee without compensation, and most of them 
for many years, and they all contributed liberally of their time and services 
and substance to build up and strengthen and endow the Institution. 
C 



34 HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 

gratitude from their gener6iis benefactions, and whose names 
will live in connection with this Institution, so long as the 
tones of 3'onder bell shall ring in the ears of the generations 
that are jet to fill our halls. Foremost among these is one, 
whose counsels and active efforts as a trustee are sufficient to 
awaken our enthusiasm, but whose generous gifts in addition 
have contributed most decidedly to our prosperity. In the 
darkest hour of our history, when the hearts of man}^ sank 
within them, he gave the highest evidence of his confidence 
in our future, by his personal contributions. From that day 
to this he has never faltered ; and now in a good old age, 
rejoices in every token of our prosperity. It will do him 
no harm — for he has reached an age when the praise of 
man can affect us little — nor will it be a violation of good 
taste, for me to mention the name of Simon" Newton Dex- 
ter. May his closing hours be cheered by the thought 
that he has not labored in vain, and comforted as he 
passes into the dark valley by the assurance that he will be 
remembered gratefully, when he has passed beyond our 
mortal vision. 

To-day, too, we dwell upon the name of William Hale 
Maynard, the able lawyer, the estimable citizen, who saw 
the necessity of qualif3dng the educated young men of our 
country for their high duties as citizens of a Eepublic, by a 
thorough course of instruction in the elements of law and 
history. His name designates that Professorship which in its 
intellectual discipline, in its power of establishing principles 
that are to guide our action as citizens, is scarcely second to 
any other. The multitudes who have or who hereafter may 
enjoy its benefits, will not forget the noble generosity that 
gave it to this Institution. 

A few months ago, in yonder valley, near the confluence of 
the Sauquoit and the Mohawk, we laid in their earthly house 
the remains of a good man, who in the ripeness of years, 
had gone home to his father's house on high. All around 
us, rose the material monuments that illustrated the enter- 
prise, the wisdom, the taste, the piety of the pioneer manu- 
facturer. But here on this hill-side, that good man had 



HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 35 

reared a monument more enduring; created an influence 
vastly more powerful to 'bless the future of his State and 
country. That village, those churches and spacious facto- 
ries will decay or pass into other hands ; his name will cease 
to be identified with those works of his hands and brain ; but 
never while this Institution remains a light in the land, will 
the influence of Bb-njamdnT S. Walcott cease to be felt or 
his name fail of grateful recognition from the sons of Ham- 
ilton.^ 

There is another .name among our benefactors ; one whose 
princely benefactions to another literary institution as 
well as this, will carry his influence down to future gener- 
ations ; who wdll live, in the power to bless mankind these 
gifts have created, long after the wealth which others have 
gathered and devoted to mere selfish purposes, has been 
scattered and lost. 

The names of Dexter and Maynard, and Walcott and 
Be:n"jamin, associated with those of Bates and Dodge, 
Billings and others who have here assisted to lay the 
foundations and rear the structure of a great Christian 
University, form a constellation that will never set; to 
which, as a just appreciation of this power of light increases 
in society, other stars will be added, making the heavens 
above us, long before our sons celebrate our centennial ju- 
bilee, all ablaze with its glory. 

Of the five Treasurers of the College, four have gone to 
another world. The names of Clark, f and Dean,:]: and 

* The Walcott Professorship of the Evidences of Christianity was founded 
by the joint donation of Benjamin S. Walcott, and William D. Walcott his 
son— the former contributing 15,000. and the latter 5,000, of the 20,000 dol- 
lars which constitute the foundation. 

t Erastus Clark, the first Treasurer of Hamilton College, was born on 
the 11th of May, 1768, at Lebanon, Conn. He was graduated at Dartmouth 
College, and at the age of twenty-two was admitted to practice law in the 
State of Connecticut. In 1791, he removed to the State of New York, and 
settled first in the village of Clinton, from whence he removed to the city 
(then village) of Utica, in 1797, and continued to reside there until his 
death on the 6th of Nov., 1825. He was called to the Bap of Oneida county 
immediately on removing to Clinton, and continued in the active practice 
of his profession until his death. Although not a fluent or persuasive ad- 



36 HISTORICAL DISCOUESE. 

Williams,"^" and DwiaHT.f will not be forgotten while 
sterling integrity and devotion to tlie interests of this Insti- 
tution, constitute a just claim upon the respect and venera- 
tion of her sons. Nor shall we forget those men, whose 
enterprise and tact have contributed and are contributing so 

vocate, be Tvas a sound, well-read lawyer, a safe counselor, and an emi- 
nently upright, frank and sincere man. He took rank with the eminent 
men of his day in the profession of law, with Piatt, and Gold, and Sill, and 
Kirkland, and Storrs, who were his compeers, and was the antagonist of 
each and all of them in many a hard fought field. Great diligence, strength 
of will and tenacity of purpose were his chai*acteristic traits. He was active 
in all local matters, and took a deep concern in the growth and prosperity 
of the city of his residence, to which he gave its name, and identified him- 
self with its interests. 

X James Deax was the eldest son of Hon. James Dean, of Westmoreland, 
Oneida Co. He was born Dec. 19th, 1787, in what was then Whitestown, 
Montgomery Co. ; and Avas the first white male child born within the pres- 
ent limits of Oneida Co. 

Having pursued his preparatory studies at the Hamilton Oneida Acade- 
my, he was graduated at Union College in 1811. holding the first place as a 
scholar in his class, and receiving the highest honor. From 1813 to 1816, 
he was a Tutor in Hamilton College, with Theodore Strong as his colleague. 
Having resigned the tutorship, he continued his professional studies in the 
oflfice of Hon. Jonas Piatt, of Whitestown, and afterwards with Hon. James 
Powers, at Catskill, where he was admitted to the Bar. He afterwards 
removed to New Hartford, Oneida Co., and subsequently to Utica, where he 
died May 23d, 1841, in the 53d year of his age. He held for some years the 
office of a Judge of the Courts of Oneida county, was Treasurer of Hamilton 
College from 1825 to 1828, represented Oneida Co. in the Legislature of this 
State, and.was Clerk of this county for a single term. 

He was a gentleman of high moral worth, of singular amiability, modesty, 
refinement and culture — a gentleman of the old school. He retained through 
his life his early fondness for classical study. His intimate friends knew 
him to be familiar with the Latin and Greek poets, and an uncommonly 
appreciative classical critic. He was a careful student of the Bible, and 
was familiar with the New Testament in the original version. His habitual 
self-depreciation had prevented a public profession of his faith in Christ. 
At his death, he greatly regretted his delay and declared his only hope to 
be in Christ crucified. 

* Othxiel Wuxiams, the third Treasurer, was born in Kensington, Hart- 
ford Co., Conn., Jan., 1787. He graduated at Yale College, in 1810 ; studied 
law with Judge Piatt, of Whitestown, and practiced his profession in Water- 
ville, Oneida Co., witil 1820, when he removed to this place. He was elected 
a Trustee in May, 1827, and Treasurer in August, 1828. He filled this office 
until his death, on the 4th of November, 1832. These four years embrace 



HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 37 

vitally to the establishment of our material interests. Alex- 
ander, Avery, and Goertner have written their names 
broadly on onr walls and there they will remain while those 
walls endure. 

I have said that the character of this Institution was 
illustrated by that of her sons. It is not fit that on this 
occasion we should fail to speak of those here formed and 
prepared for life, Avhose lives are the ripe friiit of the disci- 
pline and instruction of Hamilton. It is right for a mother 
to glory in her children and value them as her true jewels, 
and wear them as her crown. But here there are two con- 
siderations which somewhat embarrass me. The first is the 
fact that as a College we are yet in our youth and the mass 

the darkest period through which this Institution has passed. He stood by 
it in this time of trial and devoted himself with great earnestness to the 
work of reviving and establishing it on a permanent basis. The last busi- 
ness transacted by him, was to dictate from his sick bed, a letter respecting 
the condition and necessities of the College, addressed to Hon. Joshua A. 
Spencer, who was his personal friend and had been elected a member of 
the Board at the previous August meeting. An extract from Mr. Spencer's 
reply, dated Oct. 19, 1832, will indicate the tenor of Mr. Williams' commu- 
nication. He writes. •' Your letter on the College subject I am happy to re- 
ceive, for I go down this afternoon to see my friend, and I am now fur- 
nished with text and sermon which I will not fail to preach." 

t Benjamin W. D wight, the second of eight sons of Rev. Dr. D wight, 
President of Yale College, was born at Northampton, Mass., Feb. 10, 1780. 
He graduated at Yale College, in 1799 ; studied medicine, under Drs. Rush 
and Physick, at Philadelphia, and for a short time practiced his profession 
at Catskill, N. Y. In consequence of feeble health, he relinquished his 
profession and acted for several years as his father's secretary and amanu- 
ensis. He subsequently engaged in mercantile pursuits in New Haven, 
New York and Catskill. He settled in the last place in 1817, and in 1831 
removed to Clinton. In the fall of 1832, he was elected Treasurer of Ham- 
ilton College, which office he continued to hold until his death, May 18th, 
1850. The selection of Dr. Dwight for this post, proved to be eminently 
happy, and His labors for the College were unintermitted during the nearly 
twenty years in which he had charge of the finances of the College. Dr. 
Dwight was not only a ripe scholar, but an accurate, diligent, and method- 
ical business man. He took a deep interest in the College, and his services, 
during the long period of his incumbency, were of especial value, and 
intimately connected with its advance from a state of -great depression to 
one of comparative prosperity. The Alumni will ever cherish his memory 
as one of the most effective friends of this Institution. 



38 HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 

of our Alumni are still livino-. Out of nearly eleven liun- 

o 

dred but two hundred are marked on our Catalogue with 
stars. But to speak of the living is alwaj^s more difficult 
than of the dead. The second fact that embarrasses me is 
the absolute \Yealth of names that represent men who are 
powers full of life and light in society. In ^^roportion to the 
numbers she has sent forth, our Alma Mater challenges 
comparison in this respect with any other institution in the 
land. To speak fitly of all those who have honored 
Hamilton by their lives, Avould be impossible. The 
length to which this address has extended and the ex- 
ercises which are yet to follow, warn me to be brief in 
what I have yet to say. Permit me then to mention 
only a few names ; let them stand as representatives of 
the Avhole ; and if in mentioning some I should seem 
unjust to others equally worthy, you Avill attribute it to 
the necessities of my position and pardon the seeming 
neglect. Take then, as fit rej)resentatives of the ministers 
that have been formed here, the names of Calhoux and 
DiMMiCK, of Adams and Nortox, of Parker and Hague 
and AA'^ING. From men like these society has felt going- 
down into it, influences mighty for good ; influences that 
have created life in the bosom, of death and given an heav- 
enward impulse to vast multitudes. One name there is 
that at once rises to every lip, when you think of the faith- 
ful pastor and the able preacher; one, whose works full of 
light and Christian research have stirred and enlightened 
the minds of millions in our own land and in that of our 
mother, England ; need I mention to this audience the 
name of Albert B arxes ? 

Take next as the representatives of our Christian scholars 
and educators, the names of Presidents Taylor ai^d Smith 
and Bacox, of Whedox and Kendrick and Hadley and 
WooLWORTH and the Dwights, whose attainments have 
given them a high place among the scholars of the land, 
and whose labors in the cause of education have surrounded 
them with an enduring glory. One too there is among this 
class, the juij^il of Backus, the son-in-law of Kirkland, 



HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 39 

whose name and fame are world-wide. Wherever profound 
learning and ripe Christian scholarship are valued, there will 
the name of Edward Eobinson be held in high esteem. 
From such men Hamilton College derives her glory and 
illustrates her power. 

As an example of that missionary spirit which founded the 
Academy and which has ever had its home here, I mention 
the name of Harrison G-ray Otis Dwight. As a Christ- 
ian scholar of high attainments, as a missionary for more 
than thirty ^^ears in the city of Constantine, as one of the 
leaders of that noble band who under the divine guidance 
originated that wonderful reformation, second in magnitude 
only to that of the sixteenth century, Avhich is now spread- 
ing through the masses of Armenia, moving the Greek and 
infusing its life into the palsied heart of the Turk, Dr. 
Dwight won the esteem and veneration of the church at 
home, and a place of power in the hearts of multitudes in 
that land once trodden by the feet and bedcAved by the 
tears of Christian apostles and martyrs. A few weeks be- 
fore Grod took him up in his whirlwind chariot, he returned 
to us and told the story of his life. With fond anticipations 
lie looked forward to this day ; he expected to meet again 
on this spot the friends of his college d^js ; to renew the 
scenes of his youth, and gather fresh vigor from these de- 
lightful associations for his yet uncompleted task. He is 
not here in bodily presence ; he is here in spirit Avith his 
crown of many stars. And to-day we set him among our 
.garnered jewels and hold him upas the representative of 
those noble men this Christian College has reared, whose 
lives illustrate the Gospel on foreign shores. 

If now we pass to the Bar, we select the names of Charles 
P. KiRKLAND and Thomas Hunt Flandrau, as repre- 
sentatives of that power which Hamilton has exerted in all 
parts of the Union ; while on the Bench the names of Grid- 
ley, and Henry, and Bacon, and Clinton, will represent 
that constellation of our worthies who have nobly adminis- 
tered justice and enforced the laws. In the State, as exec- 
utive officers and legislators, let Sedgwick, and Cochrane, 



40 HISTOEICAL DISCOUKSE. 

and WiLLAED, and Fenton, sustain lier escntcheon ; while 
FooTE and Hastings sliall marshal our physicians; and 
Gereit Smith, the pupil and' son-in-law of President 
Backus, will lead off our golden-mouthed orators ; and Ken- 
DEICK and Howe, this day, illustrate the grace and beauty 
of our brothers in the realm of literature and poesy. What 
an array, full of intellect, instinct with power to bless the 
world, here trained for its work, will 'not these names sug- 
gest ! What vital influences to ennoble and elevate hu- 
manity, penetrating all stations and departments of society, 
reaching all over our country and touching foreign shores, 
have gone forth from these Halls ! 

Sons of Hamilton, as ye gather to-day around the old 
hearth-stone, to celebrate the golden wedding of her who 
bore ybu in her arms in your early feebleness ; as brother 
streets brother returned from your Ions- wanderino-s and 
manly toils ; as classmate recounts to classmate the story of 
his checkered life, his defeats and triumphs, his sorrows and 
joys ; as to-morrow ye shall listen to these younger brothers 
panting for their entrance on the battle of life, give thanks 
— give thanks to that great Being, who, amidst all the em- 
barrassments and difficulties incident to the youth of such 
an institution, has yet enabled her to ripen such influences 
and gather in such glorious fruits. Let the names which 
brighten and adorn the record of her first half-century ; let 
the victories her sons have achieved ; let the visible monu- 
ments of light they have reared, indicating the immeasura- 
ble power put forth to fertilize and bless society, which, not 
until the judgment unrolls its records, will blaze before us 
in all its glory; let these swell your hearts with the joy of 
a true Jubilee, while they lift before you the grander prom- 
ise of the future. 

And now you ask what of that future ? We pretend not 
to possess the vision of the prophet ; we cannot compass or 
anticipate the purposes of Him, who through these institu- 
tions is working out his own glorious ends. But, while 
recognizing the necessity of His benediction to the success 
of all our plans, we see clearly certain elements which must 



HISTOKICAL DISCOURSE. -il 

enter into our permanent prosperity. The first of these, 
the most important, the vitally essential, is the high esti- 
mate in which the Chnrch shall hold these institutions as 
necessary to the progress of Christianity. I repeat here 
to-day the words of the historian of the Pilgrims : "After 
Grod had carried us safe to ISTcav England, and we had 
builded our houses ; provided necessaries for our livelihood, 
reared convenient places for God's worship, and settled the 
civil government, one of the next things we longed for, and 
looked after, was to advance learning and perpetuate it to 
posterity ; dreading to leave an illiterate ministry to the 
churches, when the present ministers shall be in the dust." 
" A college was the best thing that ever New England 
thought upon." Thus out of the necessities of the church 
the college sprang to life. I echo to-day the words of 
our first President : " Mere science without moral and relig- 
ious habits, is a curse, and not a blessing to the commu- 
nity.!' I echo the words of Dr. Lothrop, the grandson of 
KiRKLAND : "Our colleges without the Bible and religion 
will be a curse to the nation." Let the Church of Christ in 
this State, more immediately and naturally ' connected with 
us, rise to a full conception of the magnitude of the interest 
she has at stake in this Institution ; let her install it in her 
affections ; inspire it with her spirit and breathe around it 
her prayers : let her ministry watch over its interests, con- 
centrate upon it their anxieties and breathe the spirit of a 
high enthusiasm for its progress and elevation into their 
congregations : let the college thus be linked to the very 
life of the church ; and under Grod it will live, it will 
rise ; it will pour back into her bosom a new life ; it will 
man her enterprises with heroic workers ; it will consecrate 
science and religion to her service, and prepare her to carry 
the Grospel triumphant through the world. 

Then let the alumni of Hamilton bear her in their arms 
and cherish her as their noble mother. Let them, bearing 
in mind what she has done, what she is doing, and antici- 
pating the vast work for Christ and humanity which, with 
enlarged facilities, she will yet do, stand by her ; second 



42 HISTOEICAL DISCOURSE. 

ever J effort for lier enlargement ; advocate her just claims 
with a generous enthusiasm ; work for her on all fit occa- 
sions with that true pride which inspires the possessor of a 
noble ancestry, and she in turn will reflect upon her sons a 
brighter light and make everv heart thrill as he feels, " I am 
a son of Hamilton." 

Then let us cany our appeal to that profound patriotism 
which animates our citizens ; let us show how she plants in 
the heart of her sons every noble virtue that can elevate the 
nation and exalt humanity ; how, not onh' have her sons 
been foremost in lifting up the glorious banner of our coun- 
try against the armed hordes of rebellion, on every battle 
field, but in every department of society, where mind 
achieves its triumphs, have they Adnclicated their early 
training and borne high advanced the name of Hamilton. 
Let us possess these three grand elements of success, and 
we shall have the divine benediction resting upon us in 
light and glory ; we shall have a large and generous con- 
stituency ; our plans for her advancement, hoAvever exten- 
sive, will have a grand fulfillment ; we shall not be com- 
pelled to ask on how small a sum can she be sustained ; we 
shall not be compelled to task one man with the burdens that 
belong to two ; we shall not be driven by stern necessity to 
question whether the services of this or that faithful laborer, 
cannot be dispensed with and laid upon others already 
overtasked ; we shall deal generously with those noble men 
who devote their lives to this often thankless work ; we shall 
be able to say to the young man struggling to gain an educa- 
tion in spite of adverse circumstances, "Go forward, you shall 
not want !" we shall enlarge all our" facilities for education, 
until there shall not be found on tlie broad earth another 
institution established on a more solid and generous foun- 
dation ; and as her alumni go forth, they will point back 
with noble pride to their beloved mother, and thank God 
they are her sons. 

It was amidst the smoke and thunder of war, that fifty 
years ago the foundations of this College were laid ; and 
when they passed away, lo ! on 3'on hill-top had sprang 



HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 43 

into being a power miglitier than tlie sword ; more glo- 
rious ttian its trinmphs. It is amidst the heavier thun- 
der and darker cloud of this dread conflict, when all, 
that to us is most precious, is in peril, we celebrate our 
Semi-centennial Jubilee. This thunder shall roll away 
and the cloud disperse before the uprising patriotism of 
twenty millions of freemen and the red-right &Ym of the 
Lord of hosts. Then will our Alma Mater enter upon a 
new, a grander march of progress. O ! for a glance of the 
prophetic eye of him who on Patmos saw the future of the 
nations pass before him ! — a power to anticipate the Cen- 
tennial Jubilee !-^to see the edifices, sacred to learning and 
religion, that will then crown our hill side 1 — the thousands 
of noble sons that will press upward with glad footsteps, 
as to a shrine of all that is loved and sacred, to pour their 
thanksgivings forth to God at her feet; to hear some of 
these young brothers, then veterans gray with age and 
man}^ a hard fought battle on the field of humanity, recount 
the hour Avhen they celebrated this first jubilee, and with 
tears of gladness, bless Grod, for the wondrous influence and 
glorious works accomplished, beyond our thought, which 
shall then constitute her past ! Then the speakers and the 
actors in this scene will most -of them have passed away. 
But the work, we do shall live; this day shall bring forth 
glorious fruit, and from another world it will be ours to 
rejoice in spirit with the assembled thousands of her sons, 
as to-day the spirits of Kirklai^d, and Backus, and Davis, 
and D WIGHT, and Penney look down rejoicingly upon us 
from the mansions of the blest. 



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